Terps Graduate To Higher Level With Ncaa Title

NCAA Men's Final

ATLANTA -- Once upon a time, this is what college basketball was about.

It was a time before the shady shoe-company execs and sports agents became commonplace, when college basketball was a proving ground instead of a steppingstone.

It was a time when being a senior meant something. When college players grew up together, lived and died, laughed and cried together.

The Maryland Terrapins took us back to those times Monday night when they won a school-first national title with three seniors, two juniors and no McDonald's All-Americans in their starting lineup.

It seemed the entire country embraced Indiana, the prototypical underdog -- the team with the scrappy players, the buzz cuts and the skinned knees. It is in our makeup to be captivated by the unexpected. That's why Indiana became the darlings of the Final Four while Maryland became the heavies.

Go ahead and give Indiana your love, but make sure to give Maryland your respect. Fairytale stories are great, but there's something to be said for gritty reality stories as well. Maryland didn't wear glass slippers to the Final Four; it wore work boots. The Terps were supposed to be here, they expected to be here -- and they were here.

What Maryland accomplished with its 64-52 championship victory is perhaps even more impressive than what Indiana might have. Living up to expectations is sometimes more difficult than exceeding them. Ask Duke. Ask Kansas. Ask Cincinnati. Ask Oklahoma.

The Terps were the only No. 1 seed left standing. They were the team that didn't have the ups and downs and growing pains that some other teams have had to endure this season. And why is that? Seniors. It's all about seniors.

Guard Juan Dixon, center Lonny Baxter and small forward Byron Mouton never wavered from their goal of bringing Maryland its first national title.

"That's what we came here to do, and we weren't going to be satisfied until we did it," Dixon said.

Maryland could have cracked along the way, but its seniors simply wouldn't let them. In the semifinal, Kansas trailed the Terps by 20 in the second half but closed to five with two minutes left. Maryland's seniors then closed out the Jayhawks. In the championship, Maryland led for most of the game, but Indiana led 44-42 with 9:53 left. Maryland's three seniors accounted for 14 of the team's points down the stretch.

We hear so much about players leaving early for the NBA that we forget about those who stay late. And those who stay usually make a difference.

Three years ago, it was Michigan State's senior-laden team running Billy's Bambinos -- University of Florida Coach Billy Donovan's young squad -- out of the gym in the national title game. Last year, Duke won the national championship behind senior Shane Battier. And now comes Maryland, a team filled with players who stuck it out, learned, matured, grew physically and emotionally, improved their games and fulfilled their dreams.

Afterward, Dixon and Baxter rolled around the floor, laughing, crying, hugging. And Mouton embraced Coach Gary Williams with tears streaming down his face.

"We wanted to do something special, and we did," Mouton said.

Three friends. Three leaders. Three seniors.

Three young men who decided they wanted to be the cornerstones of a championship program instead of a footnote in history.